


In the Still of the Night

by juggiejonessss



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, F/M, Jughead saves Betty, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Riverdale, Zombie Aplocalypse, bughead - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-19 12:07:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19973809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/juggiejonessss/pseuds/juggiejonessss
Summary: Darkness...pure darkness.It washed over the Earth, much to everyone’s taking over the light of day, bringing a horrific plague upon the land.Everything was normal, until suddenly, it wasn’t. The zombies spread like wildfire—no one can be trusted, and nowhere is safe.Until I felt his arms around me, the arms of my saviour.Jughead Jones is my safe place.ORRiverdale and Zombies.





	1. Prologue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, guys! This will be my first proper and solid plot fanfic here on Ao3!!! I’ve wanted to write this for a while now...but I always forgot to lol.
> 
> However, I watched Pride and Prejudice and Zombies again. I swear, it’s like a guilty pleasure. Aaaand, I also watched The Fifth Wave...again. So there’s that.

**"Betty, run!"**

The voice echoed in her head as she ran as fast as her feet could take her, the soil wet and dented with puddles as the rain poured from above. A flash of lightning lit up the grey sky, followed by the roar of thunder.

**"Get out of here! Save yourself!”**

She was panting heavily, her eyes blurry from the rain drops that ran down her face. She blinked furiously to get her vision to clear up because the path was unclear—she knew she shouldn't have wandered off too far into the woods.

**"Run and never look back!"**

She tripped on a bulging root before, sending her down to the ground flat on her front. She yelped, pain coursing through her arm. She realised that her elbow landed badly against the ground—she was sure that it was dislocated, but she knew she couldn't stop running. She tried pushing herself off the ground with her good arm, but failed ultimately and fell right back, screaming in pain when her elbow hit the ground once more. She turned herself around, laying on her back, breathing heavily as she stared up at the sky.

**"You're going to survive, Betty. I know you will."**

There was another flash of lighting, followed by the thunder, and she coughed. Her body felt like it was drowning in ice cold water, and above that, her elbow hurt like a bitch. She heard the memory of her parents' voices in her head, telling her to keep running, to keep on living.

However, in the midst of the loudness of their voices, there was a small, soft voice. She recognised the gentleness of it as her sister's, and it was telling her to close her eyes.

**"Close your eyes, Betty, and go to sleep. Let them take you—it's time for you to let yourself rest."**

It was tempting, really. She's sure that they have caught up to her by now, considering that her feet were only slightly faster in running than they were. He could hear it, their growls, drawing near. She took a deep breath and forced her other hand to reach to the pendant hanging from a thin chain around her neck—it was a silver crucifix, previously owned by her father.

"I'm sorry," She muttered softly, her eyes staring up at the sky. As each second passed she could feel her consciousness start to slip away from her, as if it was being drained away. She only repeated the words over and over again, her body shivering from the cold, her breaths coming out ragged.

_They're getting closer, Betty._ She thought to herself as she heard the sound of puddles being stepped on, the soil squelching under the pressure of shoes. She tries to think about how her parents felt when they were in a situation closely similar to the one she's currently in. _Did it hurt? If it did, how painful was it?_

**"Don't think of the pain, Betty. Just close your eyes, and let it take you. Let yourself rest peacefully."**

Memories flashed before her eyes, memories of her life when everything was fine. Her mother, standing in the kitchen, decorating cupcakes for her school's annual bake sale. Her father, showing her how to fix a busted engine, leaning over the opened of a customer's car. Her sister, braiding her hair, laughing with her as they prepared for a school dance, talking about how they will both dance the night away with boys.

A small smile spread across her lips, her eyelids feeling heavy. She calmed herself, her breaths slow, her hand starting to get loose around the crucifix but with the last bit of strength in her, she gripped onto it. She heard the growl just a few feet away from her now, and she willed herself to slip away already, to be in peace.

To be reunited with them once again.

The world was starting to fade away, the noises around her unclear. She heard the clap of the thunder once again, as well as the unmistakable sound of a gunshot. It rang in her ears, and then it was followed by another one, and more. She could hear people yelling over the rain, footsteps getting close to her. Her eyes were barely open, staring up at the sky, her body now still and cold.

Her vision of the sky was soon blocked not by something, but someone. She couldn't understand what he was saying, nor could she see him clearly. She was slipping in and out of consciousness, and she could only hear him faintly. She felt herself being lifted off the ground by a pair of strong arms.

**"Let them take you, Betty. Everything's going to be fine."**

"You're going to be okay." She heard a deep voice say to her, one that she doesn't recognise. If she wasn't so worn out, she would have already ran away, like she always does. But could being taken by strangers really be worse than being eaten by a zombie?

She opened her eyes just one more time, just in time to look into a pair of the stormiest and most intense blue eyes that she has ever seen in her whole life. It was beautiful.

And then the world turned darker and darker, and she listened to the voice whispering for her to let them take her away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go, babes!! The prologue of my new story! I’d really like to get some feedback, so feel free to comment your thoughts!


	2. Chapter One.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the kudos and kind comments on the prologue! I’m really glad that people who don’t usually like apocalyptic-themes are liking this story so far! I am so hyped to write this story and I have so much ideas for this, so buckle up, because I promise you, it’s gonna be a wild ride.

"I told you, Jughead. We should've taken cover for the day!"

Jughead, because of his pride, only rolled his eyes and kept on walking. He refused to admit that he was wrong, that despite noticing signs that there would be a terrible storm later on that day, he still insisted that they go and hunt for supplies—raid grocery stores, to be specific.

"Shut up, Archie!" He said, using his gloved hands to push aside the plants that blocked their way, looking around. They have been wandering around the woods for about two hours now, and they were lucky enough that they haven't encountered a zombie yet. Still, they kept their guns in their hands, armed and ready to shoot if ever a zombie stumbles upon their path.

"Why do you even insist on supply hunting now? Why not wait until the storm is over?" Toni asked, pushing back her hair from her face, the pink highlights of it already starting to fade as he hair grows longer. Holding hands with her was her girlfriend, Cheryl, a pale redhead. There were also two more people with them—Sweet Pea and Fangs.

If Jughead was going to be honest, the reason why he wanted to go supply hunting was because he was hungry. The human body could only go so long without food, and he hasn't eaten anything for the past two days. None of them has—they've been living on water alone, simply because they couldn't find a source of food that hasn't been infested with zombies. He feels like he was going to pass out soon if he doesn't get the food he needs to live.

"We're going supply hunting because in case you haven't noticed, we're slowly starving to death." Jughead simply replied. It really was that simple—if they had enough supplies for all of them, then they could have taken the day off. They could have stayed in their little shelter—an abandoned building—instead.

"Yeah, we do notice that. I can hear your stomach grumbling all the way here, Jug." Archie teased him, nudging his shoulder lightly. Jughead groaned and kept walking. "Don't tell me you aren't hungry, Archie." He said.

"Of course I am! Are you kidding me? My stomach is just not a vacuum like yours—"

A scream echoed through the forest, immediately getting everyone's attention. "Did you hear that?" Archie asked him, looking around for signs as to where it came from. Jughead nodded, looking around as well. "Yeah, I heard it." He said, walking further.

"Do you think it's a zombie?" Cheryl asked, cocking her gun, alert for any unusual occurrences. Jughead shook his head in reply. "I doubt it, it sounds human."

"How do you know it sounds human?" Sweet Pea asked, confused, following closely behind. Fangs chuckled softly at that. "How do you know it doesn't?"

"Shut up, both of you." Toni muttered. They kept walking, until Cheryl spoke up. "Zombie to the left!"

They all turned to their left, and sure enough, there was a zombie standing there—not just one. There were three more zombies, and they all looked like they just found a meal. "Come on, we have to move." Jughead said, moving closer, noticing that the path led downwards. It wasn't too steep, but they might still slip because of the storm.

"Shoot the damn things." Jughead ordered, and not long after, Archie pulled the trigger of his gun, hitting one of the zombies in the head. They all followed, shooting at the zombies, making sure that they won't get up again.

Jughead looked further and saw a pale figure on the ground, probably unconscious. "I see someone." He told them and walked towards it, realising that it was a girl as he got a closer look. He knelt down beside her, trying to cover her from the rain. Her lips were starting to lose the red colour of it, turning into a slight blue because of how cold it was. She had a few scars littering her face, and he's willing to bet that she's got some around her body as well, but he wouldn't know because she had thick clothes on. Her eyes were opening and closing, like she was slipping in and out of consciousness. His hand reached down to touch hers, hopefully to get her attention. Her hands was ice cold.

"Miss, I need you to tell me your name." He told her, but got no response. "Are you hurt? Were you bitten?" He asked, looking down at her body for any indications of a bite, but when he found none, he looked straight into her eyes once again. There were a beautiful shade of blue, but at the same time it looked like all the life was drained out of it.

"Stay alive, okay? Don't die on me, not today." Jughead told her, immediately wrapping his arms around her, picking her up from the ground. "You're going to be okay." He said, holding her close to him. He saw her eyes move to look at him, but neither of them said anything. She was so light in his arms, her body limp and seemingly fragile.

When he looked at the zombies, they were already on the ground. There may be a chance that they're still alive, since they are zombies, so he won't take the risk of staying longer. "Let's go, guys. We have to find shelter."

"Who is she?" Sweet Pea asked, getting a glimpse of the blonde-haired girl in his arms. Jughead tried his best to shield her from the rain, but it was too strong. She was still cold in his arms, and he's scared that she might die from it. Even though she's just a stranger, he feels this overwhelming need to care for her, to protect her with all his life. He'd be damned before he lets death take her away from him.

"I don't know." Jughead said as he kept walking, her added weight not being a burden to him at all. About half an hour later, he found the end of the woods. It cleared up into what appears to be a deserted highway, and by the road is a convenience store—it could easily pass as shelter if there were no zombies.

"Over there." Jughead said, gesturing to the convenience store, walking towards it. He looked around for zombies, but there appeared to be none. Archie volunteered to stay in front of him, his gun ready to shoot. They opened the door of the convenience store and looked inside, past the shelves and at every single corner and at the backroom. There was no zombie.

"Close the blinds, and put something by the door to keep it closed." He ordered, going to the backroom and laid Betty on a pile of boxes. He took her backpack off, putting it at the side, making a mental note to do a thorough check once he's gotten her warm. It cold in the convenience store anymore, but Betty still was. Her clothes were soaked through, just like everyone else's.

"Toni! Cheryl!" He called out, not wanting to leave her. The two walked into the backroom later on, immediately kneeling beside Betty to examine her. "Jesus, she's so cold." Toni muttered, and started to peel her clothes off.

"Woah, what are you doing?" Jughead asked in shock, averting his gaze quickly and turning around. His cheeks were tinted red and he could feel them heat up. The woman clearly is beautiful, and Jughead doesn't think he has seen anyone as beautiful as her.

"We're undressing her, dumbass, so go check her bag if she has spare clothes." Cheryl snapped at him before going back to work, and Jughead rolled his eyes but followed anyway. He unzipped her bag, noticing that it was a waterproof one, so the contents were still dry. He was careful not to get them too wet, seeing that she has a few snacks in her bag, a bottle of water, some clothes and a loaded gun. There was also a pen and notebook inside, which he doesn't dare open, even though he needed information about her. He did see her wallet, though, and took it, pushing it into his pocket so that he can do some snooping around later on.

"Find anything?" Toni asked him, standing up. He took out some of her clothes and handed them out in Toni's direction, not turning around, knowing that the woman was naked.

"Thanks." Toni said, and went back to her place beside Cheryl, dressing her up. "Can you leave for a while? We could really use some privacy here." Jughead nodded and, without another word, walked out of the backroom, closing the door slightly behind him.

Archie was already starting to fill up their bags with food and medicine as well as new bottles of water. Sweet Pea and Fangs did the same.

Jughead sat down on one of the stools and pulled out the wallet he got from her bag, opening it. The first thing he saw was a picture of a family full of blondes—a couple who looked like they were in love with their two daughters standing in between them. A part of him suddenly wishes that he had that kind of family—all he got growing up was an asshole of a father and a mother who abandoned him. They tore their family apart, took his little sister away from him, and now he has absolutely no way of knowing if she's still alive. He hopes that she is.

He started pulling out some cards from her wallet, looking through them. He's seen enough to know that she can drive, and that she's a licensed teacher. She's either from a middle-class family or a rich one, because there are cards to different, expensive stores as well.

"So, who is she?" Archie asked, sitting down beside him, looking down at the card he was holding. It was her identification card from the school she was teaching in, Toledo Elementary. Jughead's eyes lit up. Toledo, that's where he knows his mom moved to after she left.

"Earth to Jughead, hello?" Archie chuckled softly, waving his hand in front of his face. "Did you zone out again?"He asked, snapping his fingers. Jughead put the card back into her wallet and closed it. "What's her name?"

"Elizabeth Cooper."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More characters will come along the way...but the real question is: will they stick together as one ‘til the end? Geez, I don’t know lol. I think it’s time you start making guesses.


	3. Chapter Two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am obsessed with writing this story! I have so many ideas and I swear I will organise them haha. I plan on updating daily...if that’s possible for me. I wish I had this plot early on in my vacation...I’m not on my fourth month of vacation and school starts in less than two weeks and I regret not thinking of writing this earlier!

"Archie!" Toni screamed from inside the backroom about half an hour later. Archie and Jughead both stood from their seats, heading for the backroom immediately. "Keep guard." Jughead told Sweet Pea and Fangs, who nodded in reply and kept their guns in their hands.

"What is it?" Archie asked as soon as he opened the door, looking down at the girls. Both his and Jughead's eyes settled on the blonde girl laying unconscious—Elizabeth Cooper—and for one brief moment, Jughead wondered if she had died of hypothermia.

"She has a broken elbow." Cheryl informed them, carefully holding her elbow still. "It's swelling up." Archie nodded and knelt beside Toni. Before the apocalypse, Archie was studying to be a doctor—he was preparing to enter into his residency until one day, all hell broke loose and zombies came out of nowhere. Jughead could always rely on him whenever he had injuries and was fortunate enough to have been with him when the apocalypse began.

"Jughead, check the coolers and freezers for ice. If there's none, find something cold." Archie commanded, and Jughead went back out to the main area of the convenience store. He looked through the freezers, relieved when he still felt some cool air blow against him. He dug through the freezers and came up with a pack of ice, closing the freezer as soon as he got it to avoid the cool air from escaping. He rushed back to the backroom and handed Toni the ice pack, who in turn handed it to Archie.

"We need something hard for a splint. Look for bandages too, and if any of you have guys have a scarf, that'll be great." He said, pressing the ice against the swelling on her elbow. "Here, Cheryl. Hold this, and keep it right there, okay?" Cheryl nodded and took over for Archie, who made his way out of the backroom. "Come on, Jug. Help me with this." He said, looking around the store for the materials he said they needed.

"What if we take strips of cardboard and tape them all together? I'm sure that will be hard enough for a splint." Jughead suggested, picking up some of the boxes on the ground, emptying them. Archie looked at it and nodded. "That's a good idea." He said. Jughead took his knife out and began to divide the boxes and sliced it into strips that he thinks in enough to support her arm. He found some tape on one of the shelves and used it to hold the cardboard strips together tightly, and then looked for Archie.

"I found bandages." Archie announced once he found him. "It took a while and a little bit more digging, but I got it." He said, walking back into the backroom. Cheryl removed the ice pack from Betty's elbow, so that Archie can examine it. "Okay, the swelling has gone down. We have to keep it that way." He said and began to put the improvise splint on her arm, using the bandages to hold it in place by wrapping it around her arm.

"Do you need anything else?" Jughead asked, watching as Archie concentrated on his work. "Yeah, that scarf I said earlier. If there's none, find something else we could use as a sling." His ginger-haired best friend replied, not looking up from what he was doing. "We don't really need them now. It can wait for a bit."

Jughead nodded and sat down with his back against the wall, watching Archie. Cheryl and Toni had gone off to the corner, laying down after a long day. They were all bundled up and cuddling together to keep themselves warm, but Jughead's pretty sure that it's also just because they want to hold each other. He never really understood the concept behind affection, probably because he never got much of it in his life.

That and he didn't welcome it with open arms.

"How long do you think we can stay here?" Archie asked him, keeping his voice low so that he wouldn't disturb the girls. Jughead shrugged, even though Archie's back was still turned to him. "I don't know. We can lay low for a couple days." He replied, knowing that the supplies in the grocery store couldn't last forever, especially with the seven of them—now including Elizabeth.

"We can't leave her alone, you know. Not like this." Archie told him as he finished up with his work, setting aside the rest of the bandages and moved to sit beside Jughead. Archie looked at his best friend for as long as he could remember, noting that he couldn't seem to keep his eyes off of the girl who lay unconscious in front of them. "I know." Jughead replied, his voice soft. "We'll figure it out."

They were silent for a while, until Jughead smiled and turned his head to look at Archie. "I don't know how you do it, but you've managed to become the hero once again. I'm proud." He said. "Archie Andrews saves another life." Archie grinned, and the two of them laughed for some time. They barely had time to do so since the apocalypse started, and it's not like there was anything they could do to entertain themselves while zombies roamed the Earth. He missed the way things used to be, how the world used to be, even if his life sucked. Nothing could get worse that getting chased by and having to fight zombies daily.

"Me? Save her life? I just helped fix her elbow!" Archie told him once they have calmed down. He looked at Jughead like he was his role model, and in a way, he was. Jughead may not have been pursuing a medical degree like him, but he had pretty admirable qualities too. Like the fact that he would never leave anyone behind, that he will always keep his promises and protect the ones who he hold close to his heart.

"At least you helped fix her elbow."

"And you carried her all the way here in the middle of a rainstorm." Archie told him. Jughead was silent for a minute and shrugged. "Jughead, if it weren't for you, she would have been eaten by zombies now. Possibly turned into one. You made sure she wasn't left behind...besides, if it weren't for you stupid idea to go find food in the middle of a storm, we wouldn't have found her. You saved her life even before you knew that you were doing it."

"Turns out it wasn't such a stupid idea, then." Jughead said, chuckling softly. "And you guys had the audacity to tell me I was an idiot for making everyone go." He rolled his eyes, and Archie shoved his shoulder slightly. "You still are! I'm still blaming you if anyone catches a cold."

"You just said that my idea saved her life!" Jughead protested, laughing with him. He wished that they could just be like the way they were in that moment every single day. But both of them knew that it was temporary, that it wouldn't last long. "Yeah, it did." Archie said, smiling at him.

About an hour later, Jughead called Sweet Pea and Fangs into the backroom for them to discuss what their plan was. "We'll stay here until Elizabeth wakes up and is good to go. Until then, we keep our eyes peeled—always stay on guard, pair up so that we're sure that no threat comes to us." Jughead said to them. "Hopefully our supplies don't run out...but if it does, and this will only be for emergencies, we'll send two of us to go find what we need."

"Won't that be risky? I thought we're sticking together as a family." Cheryl pointed out, but Jughead shook his head. "We've got good shelter here. We're not going to risk losing this place—at least, not for a while. We all need to lay low, even just for some time. Besides, Elizabeth needs time to recover, and I don't know how long that will take."

"Are you sure that taking her is the best idea? What if she's dangerous, Jones?" Sweet Pea asked, looking at Elizabeth, who was still unconscious. Jughead glanced at her and wanted to laugh right in his face. _Is that the face of someone who is dangerous?_

"We're not leaving anyone behind, Sweet Pea. Especially her, even if we don't know her." Jughead said firmly, making sure that everyone got the message loud and clear. "I told her that she’s going to be okay. Technically, I just promised her that she will be safe with me. You know that I don’t break any of my promises.”

“She wouldn’t know if you broke your promsie to her, Jughead. She wouldn’t even know that you promised her anything! It’s not like she can hear you, she’s unconscious.” Sweet Pea said, the selfish side of him showing. “We can just leave her somewhere—”

“You were unconscious too when Archie and I found you!” Jughead snapped, his tone angry and loud, and he quickly turned to see if it disturbed Elizabeth. Turning back to Sweet Pea, he glared at him. “She may not be aware that I made her a promise, but I am. I know what I said to her, and I’d be damned before I let anyone get in the way.” Archie placed his hand on Jughead’s shoulder, an attempt to calm him down and comfort him.

“I’m keeping my promise to her, and if you have a problem with that, you’ll have to go through me.” He said, his fists clenched, the coldness and frustration in his eyes reflecting the ones in Sweet Pea’s as they stared each other down.

“Cut it out, both of you!” Toni scolded them, acting as the mediator between the two. “Sweet Pea, you gotta stop acting like a bitch. Jughead, you have to keep your temper in check. You might end up hurting each other and if either of you makes a move against the other, I swear I’ll throw you both in a pit of zombi—”

“No one’s hurting anyone, and no one will certainly be throwing anyone anywhere!” Archie sighed, running his hands through his hair. “I refuse to let this tear our family apart. Elizabeth’s one of us now, and we take care of our own.”

Sweet Pea scoffed and rolled his eyes, but before Jughead could make another move and say another word against him, Archie pulled him back and kept him where he was seated. “Jughead and I are going to be guarding tonight. Go get some rest, guys.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh, what do you think Sweet Pea’s problem is? Also, Archie is my smol bean in this story!!!


	4. Chapter Three.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you read this chapter, allow me to thank you all for supporting this story!!! I have received tremendous amounts of love and positive feedback ever since I posted the prologue!
> 
> This chapter is dedicated to a fellow writer of mine (who I actually really love and now love even more), and you may know her as the author of American Vampire and Little Criminals! Yes, it’s Lauren_is_a_moron!!! I really enjoy reading her feedback, and I swear it motivates me even more to keep on writing this story!
> 
> Lauren, you better be reading this note before jumping to the actual story!!! I offer you an infinite amount of kudos!!!

_Betty opened her eyes, looking up to see that the sky was clear and blue. She was sure that it was raining when she passed out, and she was being chased by zombies. She immediately got up, checking her elbow, seeing that it was perfectly fine. She was not soaking wet and was not covered in dirt—she wasn't even in the forest at all. Her eyebrows were furrowed deep in confusion, and it only made her wonder how long she has been passed out._

_She looked around to see where she was. She saw the white picket fence and the big house that she knows very well. It was the one that she grew up in. 'What am I doing here?' She thought to herself, confused, and she placed her hand over her head. 'Am I hallucinating?'_

_"Alice, you have to do it. Don't hesitate."_

_She turned her head to her left, seeing her father, Hal Cooper, standing there by his car. He was sweating hard, his veins bulging and turning black, his eyes red and his hand over his arm. It was bleeding, Betty noticed, but there was another thing that caught her attention. She knows that she could never be wrong about it—it was the unmistakable marking of a zombie bite. Betty placed her hand over her mouth, now seeing it from a different perspective._

_She looked to her right, seeing her mother standing there, tears in her eyes and a gun in her hands. "Hal, please, don't do this!" Alice Cooper replied, sobbing loudly, the gun pointed at her husband. "Don't make me do this!"_

_"You have to do it, love." Hal told her. "I don't want to hurt you. If I turn, I won't be able to control myself. Please, kill me before I hurt you."_

_"You're asking too much of me, Hal!" Alice cried out, her hand shaking. Betty looked further behind her where there were two young blonde girls, one only slightly older than the older. Polly had her headband on, while a younger version of Betty sported her signature ponytail. Both of them stood behind their mother, eager to see their father but at the same time scared to step foot out of the house, out of the protection provided by their mother._

_"If not for yourself, then do it for me, Alice." Hal said, fighting back the tears that have gathered at the rim of his eyes. "Do it for our family, for our daughters."_

_"They want their father back! And I want my husband back!"_

_"I'm losing time, love. I can't be a father to our girls anymore, or a husband to you. I don't want to turn, Alice. Please, just do it."_

_"We'll find a way, Hal. We'll find you a cure! We'll be a family again!" Alice insisted. She was never one to give up, and she'd be damned if she has to give up the love of her life to the stupid plague._

_Betty, who still stayed frozen on her spot, watched as the memory start to fade away. "No, no..." She muttered to herself, watching everything fade away. She tried to grab onto it, but it didn't work. Now desperate to keep the memory in her mind, she looked longingly at her father, and then at her mother, seeing the pain in their eyes for the first time. She knew how much her parents loved each other—how they would do anything for each other. "No! I want to see! Please let me see!" Betty begged._

_"Please, Ali." Her father spoke in a very gentle tone, using his nickname for her mother. "If you really love me, you'd pull the trigger. Keep yourself safe. Survive through all of this. Get out of here! Save yourself!"_

_As the memory faded into black, she flinched as she heard the loud and distinct bang of a gunshot._

_"Elizabeth, wake up!"_

________________________________

"I'm sure that Sweet Pea didn't mean the things he said, Jughead." Archie told him with a soft sigh, noticing how frustrated Jughead was even after Sweet Pea had gone off to sleep. They were seated outside at the main area of the convenience store, by the door, having already blocked the entrance with as much boxes as they could find as well as a chair. The blinds were pulled down, blocking their view of anything going on outside, and even though they can actually take the night off and rest like everyone else, Jughead does not want to take that risk.

"I don't even know what his problem with Elizabeth is. It's not like this is the first time we've gone out of our way to help someone—hell, we even stepped out of our way to help him back when this whole mess started." Jughead replied, keeping his voice low so that he wouldn't wake anyone up. Sweet Pea and Fangs were sleeping near the door of the backroom while all the girls occupied the backroom.

"Maybe he's just having a bad day, Jug. He was doing fine before we found Elizabeth." Archie told him with a light shrug. "So you're saying that Elizabeth put him in a bad mood?"

"I don't know. It's his problem, not mine." Archie shrugged, making it clear that he does not want to talk about it again. Jughead's completely fine with that. He knows that whatever Sweet Pea's problem with Betty is, it's for him to deal with. It's up to him to sort out his own mess, not Archie, and certainly not Jughead.

"So, what do you know about her?" The ginger asked him out of curiosity. Jughead recalled the information he found through her wallet, feeling a bit bad for snooping around.

"Her name is Elizabeth Cooper, she's twenty-four years old and was a teacher in Toledo Elementary—"

"Toledo? Isn't that where your mom and Jellybean are?" Archie asked, his eyes widening in surprise. Jughead couldn't help but think that it really was a small world. "Last I heard, yeah. They were in Toledo." He replied. Archie knows that the last time he received news from his mother, it was just a few months before the apocalypse began.

"Do you think that maybe Betty knows your mom? Maybe Jellybean?" Archie asked him. Jughead looked at Archie, a sigh escaping his lips since it wasn't a topic that he wanted to hear about at all. He just shrugged in response and leaned back on the shelf he sat by. "Maybe, maybe not. It's not that big of a city." He said.

"Anyway...as of now, that's basically all I know. That and she's probably rich." He said, not that it would matter to them anyway. What was he going to do with money in the middle of a zombie apocalypse? It's completely useless to him, now that they live in a world where murder is tolerated and stealing is just the tip of the iceberg of what's now legal.

Everyone makes their own rules now. It's an anarchy that Jughead does not want to willingly participate in.

"She doesn't look like one of those rich snobs, though." Archie told him. "I bet you that she's a sweet girl. She's pretty too, don't you think?" He said. Jughead couldn't help it, but his thoughts drifted off to her, to the moment he held her in his arms and had a brief moment staring into her beautiful green eyes. He knows all too well that she's very physically appealing, but he can't let that affect him.

He can't let himself get close to her. The more people he'll let in, the more people who'll end up breaking him, crushing him into pieces in the end.

"Yeah, she's pretty. Even a blind man would think so." Jughead replied, pretending like he hadn't thought much about it, but the truth was, at the back of his mind, he was haunted by a pair of stunning green eyes.

"Well, if she's pretty to you, then she really is gorgeous, then. I know how hard it is to reach your standards." Archie teased, picking up a crumpled piece of paper on the floor and aimed it at him, letting it hit his shoulder. Archie had a knowing look on his face, and Jughead was not amused by it at all. Luckily, it was dark and it wasn't easy to see clearly. Hopefully Archie wouldn't notice the blush that dusted his cheeks ever so slightly.

"Shut up, Arch." Jughead muttered in annoyance, taking the paper and threw it right back at him. Archie laughed softly, until he stopped when he heard a voice coming from the backroom.

"Do you hear that?" Archie asked him. The voice wasn't familiar to either of them, and Jughead immediately stood up. "It's Betty." He rushed to the backroom, passing by Sweet Pea and Fangs who started to stir awake.

"No, no, no!" The voice grew louder, waking up even Cheryl and Toni. Jughead looked down at Betty and saw that she was sweating a lot, her hands were called and she was panting, as if air was being taken away from her lungs. "No! I want to see!" Betty muttered, her eyes still closed, but she was already moving slightly. It looked like she was trapped somewhere, maybe in a nightmare.

"Elizabeth, wake up!" Jughead spoke, and much to his shock, her eyes snapped open, and she sat straight up, almost hitting him if he hadn't moved out of her way. She looked around, her brows furrowed deep in confusion. Jughead, unsure of what to do, reached for her shoulder and held her still, turning her so that she could face him. "Hey, hey, it's alright. You're safe here." He said.

Bright green eyes stared back into his cold blue ones. Her lips were parted slightly, her breaths starting to even out. He kept his hand on her shoulder, unable to take it off her. The others watched them, standing a short and comfortable distance away from them, not knowing what to say so they kept quiet.

"What's happening? Where am I?" She asked Jughead. "What am I doing here?" Jughead decided to answer her questions one by one, understanding that she was still in a bit of shock. "We found you in the forest, and we brought you here. This is our shelter for the time being. You were fading in and out of consciousness when we found you, and then you just passed out." He explained.

"Who are you?" Betty asked. 'Let them take you.' She remembers her sister's voice in her head, and all the memories came crashing back to her. The zombies that were chasing her, the horrible storm, getting lost in the woods. It was all too much.

"My name is Jughead Jones."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betty’s awake now...what do you think happens next?
> 
> Also, my heart broke a little bit while writing that dialogue between Hal and Alice. I thought that it would be nice for them to really be in love...but oh well, nothing lasts forever. Especially if the world is full of zombies.


End file.
